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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30037161">Lights, Camera, Friction</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenDollopHead/pseuds/QueenDollopHead'>QueenDollopHead</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Zukka Week 2021 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Clubbing, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Grinding, Jealousy, M/M, Modern AU, Roommates, Sokka just wants free drinks dammit, Zukka Week 2021, wingman sokka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:55:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,622</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30037161</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenDollopHead/pseuds/QueenDollopHead</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><b><span class="u">Zukka Week</span></b><br/>Day 1: <s>Swords</s> /// <b>Fake Dating</b></p><p>Zuko needs help picking up guys and asks Sokka for a favor. Sokka <i>thought</i> he was going to ask him for flirting tips. </p><p>He was wrong.</p><p>[[Podfic available in end notes!]]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Zukka Week 2021 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2209653</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>262</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lights, Camera, Friction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>“Sokka, it’s really not that complicated,” Zuko sighs.</p><p>They’ve been at this for a while, but it still doesn’t make any sense. Sokka knows that Zuko is starting to get frustrated with him, but surely Sokka isn’t hearing him properly.</p><p>“Run it by me one more time.”</p><p>Zuko pinches the bridge of his nose. “For the <em> love </em>of– okay,” he says. “I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend tonight to help me pick up guys.”</p><p>They’ve been roommates for the last 2 years, and there have been a lot ‘no questions asked’ and random favors between them, but the weirdness of this one takes the cake.</p><p>Sokka stares at him for a long while. “Ya lost me.”</p><p>Zuko turns away from him, but Sokka can hear him counting down from ten.</p><p>Well, clearly Sokka isn’t going to be making this sandwich right now, so he turns and puts the ham, lettuce, cheese, and mustard back in the refrigerator. He’s twisting the tie around the bread bag when Sokka decides to breach the topic again.</p><p>“I guess I just don’t understand how me pretending to <em> date </em> you is going to help.”  Sokka explains. “Wanna fill me in on that bit?”</p><p>When Zuko turns around again, he’s visibly calmer, but also seems a bit nervous. “Nevermind, it’s stupid.”</p><p>And, okay, <em> yes </em> Sokka doesn’t have a clue what’s going on, but he can tell that Zuko feels uncomfortable asking him, which generally means it’s important to him.</p><p>Sokka shrugs. “Sounds like it,” he says, then smiles. “But I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt.”</p><p>Zuko nods, shimmying back onto the kitchen stool.</p><p><em> Apparently </em>, Zuko’s theory is that gay men are objectively hotter when they are in a relationship. He cites his shitty relationship with Ruon-Jian as evidence– when they were out together, they were fending off advances left and right. After they broke up, however, Zuko came home more often than not having completely struck out.</p><p>“You know how shit I am with words, take right now for instance,” Zuko says.  “But when we were out as a couple– all we had to do was dance together or maybe hold one another and the free drinks just kept pouring.”</p><p>And well, as ridiculous as it sounds, it <em> was </em>how Ruon-Jian met the dude he later cheated on Zuko with.</p><p>“So that’s why I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend,” he explains. “Slash-wingman.”</p><p>Sokka <em> really </em> needs to start saying “no” to people. Specifically Zuko. </p><p>The things you do to help your roommate get laid.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The club is loud and crowded, making an already easy ruse even more convincing with how close Zuko and Sokka have to be. They’re dancing, having a few laughs at the expense of their fellow patrons, when Zuko leans forward to talk into his ear. “Kiss me, then go to the bar,” he instructs.</p><p>It takes a minute to remember that the <em> kiss me </em> directive is part of the whole ‘pretend boyfriend’ act. He mirrors Zuko, making sure his words fall close to his ear. “What happened to the free drinks I was promised?”</p><p>Zuko laughs. “Soon,” he promises. “But no one is going to approach me <em> while </em> you’re dancing with me.”</p><p>Which, makes sense, but Sokka didn’t like the idea that Zuko was making himself the bait in his own trap. Still, Sokka smiles as he pulls away, then tilts up to press a chaste kiss to Zuko’s forehead. “Be right back, babe,” Sokka announces loudly.</p><p>Instead of going to the bar, Sokka pushes through a few people in the crowd to put just a small distance between himself and Zuko.</p><p>It doesn’t take long for some jock head to approach Zuko. Sokka spies the satisfied smirk on his face before Zuko turns to his first catch and smiles coyly.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, Zuko’s suitor is reeled in immediately.</p><p>The new guy is much taller than Zuko and Sokka. Sokka watches as Zuko leans up onto his tiptoes to talk by his ear. Zuko’s hand traces up and down his bicep as he talks, a very intentional gesture. Similarly, his conversation partner has a hand at Zuko’s waist, the suggestive grip keeping Zuko close.</p><p>The guy asks a question, and Zuko nods, spinning around to dance with his back flush to the jerk’s front. Despite the loud, thumping beats of the club music, Zuko’s hips move in slow, sensual circles against the man behind him. He has a hand in Zuko’s hair, brushing the long strands over his shoulder before tracing his long fingers down Zuko’s neck. Zuko’s eyes flutter closed when the guy whispers something into his ear, a deep roll backward in response to what could have only been filthy words.</p><p>It’s obscene, really, how this jerk leers at his roommate. His hand closes possessively around Zuko’s hip, but Zuko’s own moves it across to his stomach. The guy immediately follows Zuko’s lead, and Zuko smiles again when their hips sync up.</p><p>Zuko’s other hand reaches up over his shoulder, cupping the man behind his head. The pair grows larger in Sokka’s field of vision, but Sokka doesn’t understand <em> why </em> until he’s suddenly close enough that Zuko <em> sees </em>him and freezes. The guy must feel Zuko still, because he stops his pursuit of Zuko’s lips and looks Sokka dead in the eye.</p><p>Or so he guesses, Sokka can really only focus on Zuko at the moment. Sokka forces himself to smile, but it sits funny on his face.</p><p>“Oh hi, um… you’re back.” Zuko’s hand falls from the other man’s head. He looks a bit flushed, and Sokka shushes the part of his brain that is trying to determine whether it’s from embarrassment or arousal.</p><p>Sokka shrugs. “Yeah, the line was killer. I honestly gave up.” Still holding his faux smile, Sokka turns to the guy, blinks his wide eyes twice.</p><p>He’s sure he looks positively deranged. His theory is confirmed when the man disentangles himself from Zuko and slinks away without looking back.</p><p>Zuko straightens his posture, brushes some of his hair back over his shoulder before he levels Sokka with skeptical stare. “Doesn’t that go against the whole point of the plan?”</p><p>Sokka shrugs. To be quite honest, he had entirely forgotten about ‘the plan’ when he interrupted them. Had forgotten most things on the way over. “He was gross,” he explains lamely.</p><p>“He was <em> not</em>,” Zuko argues. “He was hot.”</p><p>“Maybe in a fuckboy kind of way.”</p><p>Zuko sighs, crossing his arms over his chest. “Sokka, I hate to have to spell this out for you, but I’m <em> not </em> here to find a boyfriend.”</p><p>“I know,” Sokka says, stepping in to clasp Zuko’s arms. “You already <em> have </em> the best boyfriend going.”</p><p>Zuko scoffs. “A boyfriend who seems determined to stop me from getting laid.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, baby,” Sokka says, slipping back into character. “Let me make it up to you, dance?”</p><p>Zuko smiles kindly and accepts the invitation, and Sokka can’t explain the disappointment he feels when they resume dancing across from one another.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The next guy that approaches Zuko is even slimier than the first one, and this time Zuko shoots him down before he can even pull him in to dance.</p><p>Perhaps they’re not selling the couple bit well enough. Sokka hasn’t even gotten a free drink yet!!</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“It’s more of a theory than anything else,” Zuko had shyly explained. “Back when I was with Ruon-Jian, anytime we went out together we both would get hit on like crazy, he’d end up with more phone numbers than–” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Do you need me to remind you that your ex was a cheating piece of shit?” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>And well, that fucking settles it. Sokka is not going to be outdone by the likes of Ruon-Jian, who never once put Zuko first in the eight long months that they dated.</p><p>Sokka doesn’t doubt the source of his fierce competitiveness when he spies Zuko on his return from the bathroom. A new suitor is leaning conspiratorially close, and he’s an 8 at best. So Sokka ups the ante.</p><p>He slinks up behind Zuko and slides both hands over his hips. “Hey baby,” he whispers, leaning down to plant a kiss on his neck. Zuko shudders at the contact. “This guy bothering you?”</p><p>Sokka feels Zuko swallow beneath his lips. “No,” he says shakily, then sighs when Sokka squeezes his hips. “He was just leaving.”</p><p>Raising his eyes to meet the jealous stare of the new guy, Sokka hums his victory.</p><p>What a great look to be on the receiving end of.</p><p>“You heard the man,” Sokka says smugly.</p><p>The guy stalks away, shooting one last glare over his shoulder. Zuko sighs and leans back against Sokka’s chest. “You’re being a real cock block,” he says ruefully. “At this rate, I’m going home with you tonight.”</p><p>“Would that be such a bad thing?” Sokka asks, resting his chin on Zuko’s shoulder.</p><p>They’ve always been close; in the early years of living together, they spent nearly every waking moment together, a few sleeping moments, too, in the times that one or more of them passed out during movie night. Zuko had been a bit slow to warm to Sokka’s touchiness and complete lack of boundaries, but these days, the casual contact between them had become as routine as snoozing the morning alarm.</p><p>“Kinda defeats the purpose of coming out tonight,” Zuko mumbles. Sokka wraps his arms around Zuko’s waist, and Zuko’s own arms lower to rest in the familiar embrace. They’re swaying slowly.</p><p>What <em> isn’t </em> routine, is this– Sokka having something to say to him, and not being entirely sure how to say it.</p><p>“Fair enough,” Sokka agrees. “But I have a new theory for you.”</p><p>“Do tell.”</p><p>“We’re not selling the boyfriends act well enough,” he says. “If we were, we’d both be pleasantly sloshed on free booze, and you’d be getting ravished up against the wall by a total ten.”</p><p>Zuko hums thoughtfully, Sokka feels the vibrations against his own chest. “It’s true that none of those guys were a ten,” he says. “What are you suggesting?”</p><p>Sokka smiles, of <em> course </em> Zuko would know he has a plan.</p><p>“The hotter I dance with you,” Sokka says. “The <em> hotter </em>you’re going to look to everyone who wants a slice.”</p><p>Zuko scoffs. “And you’re basing this on…?”</p><p><em> Myself</em>. Sokka thinks. “Just a theory,” he answers. “Only one way to find out.”</p><p>And for as long as he’s known him, Zuko’s never been one to turn down a challenge. “Okay,” he rasps. Then, Zuko’s arms are unravelling, his hands closing around Sokka’s to guide them back to his hips. The beat drops and Zuko rolls back, Sokka’s brain short-circuits and all semblance of plan surrender to trying to follow the moves of Zuko’s hips.</p><p>He wonders if they look at all like what he had witnessed earlier in the evening. His left-hand mimes the memory, sliding to press low against Zuko’s stomach. The skin gives under the press of his fingers to the muscle underneath. Zuko gasps at the sudden shift in direction as Sokka takes the lead, pressing the warm body back against his own. “Hm, thought you’d like that,” Sokka says against his ear. There’s no hiding his own appreciation of their movements, with Sokka’s growing arousal pressing against Zuko’s firm backside.</p><p>Zuko swallows, tipping his head back again. Sokka leans in to hear his words. “You saw?” he asks breathlessly.</p><p>“Everything,” he confirms, voice dipping low. “You looked good.”</p><p>Their bodies keep a steady rhythm, but there’s something downright dirty in the way Zuko’s body responds to his admission. “Yeah?” he asks.</p><p>“Mmhmm,” Sokka says, squeezing his hip. Miraculously, his hum still sounds flirty despite the fact that he just <em> needed </em> those extra seconds to find words. “I’d say that <em> everybody </em> was watching, but truthfully I wouldn’t know.”</p><p>“And how about now?” Zuko rasps.</p><p>This makes Sokka chuckle. “You mean do you look good, now? From this angle, I’d say yes.”</p><p>Feeling bold, Sokka coasts his hand down Zuko’s thigh. Zuko leans down to accommodate the stretch, and Sokka greedily holds him close.</p><p>“But that’s not what you were asking, were you?” Sokka says after a moment. He lifts his head from Zuko’s shoulder, looking around to confirm what he already knew to be true. “You want to know if everyone’s watching you grind against me.”</p><p>Sokka can see Zuko bite his lip at the supposition. “They are, baby,” Sokka promises, nuzzling his shoulder. Never mind that only Zuko can hear the pet name. “They are <em> so </em> jealous, they want to be me so bad, have you this close…”</p><p>Zuko whines, a surprising, yet promising sound. “It’s okay to like it,” Sokka assures. “I am quite partial to it, as well. Much better than being on the other end, I’d say.”</p><p>Sokka repositions his hands. The one against Zuko’s chest tips him up again, the one on his hip keeping their rhythm.</p><p>Evidently, Sokka can’t keep his damn mouth shut tonight.</p><p>“So, I’d venture that you’re enjoying yourself,” he says, laughing when Zuko nods his head, hair falling over his shoulders. Sokka sweeps it back into place, then breathes against his ear. “What else do you like in a dance partner?”</p><p>Zuko finally turns his head to look at Sokka, and Sokka nearly groans– being on this end of that lust filled gaze is almost too much.</p><p><em> Almost</em>.</p><p>But then Zuko raises the stakes, turning in his arms to pull Sokka flush against his chest. Sokka’s frozen in that moment as Zuko cups his cheek. His eyes are a blazing, determined gold, and even the low lights of the club can’t disguise the depth of the red blush on his cheeks. “He’s gotta be a good kisser.” Zuko says.</p><p>And well, Sokka is very eager to prove his worth. He all but grabs Zuko by the neck to mash their lips together. Fingers dig into Sokka’s waist as Zuko hums into his mouth.</p><p>They’re not nearly buzzed enough to justify the sloppiness of their impromptu make-out session. Zuko’s tongue dives into his mouth and Sokka greets it with his own. Sokka rolls their hips together, but Zuko is a <em> genius </em> and presses his thigh against Sokka’s arousal for some delicious friction. Sokka immediately reciprocates, and quietly prays to any almighty spirits who will listen that they’ll be able to maintain their balance well enough to safely continue rutting against each other in earnest.</p><p>Incredibly, they don’t spill onto the floor, or in their respective jeans, but oxygen is still a thing that humans need so they eventually part. Zuko pinches Sokka’s lip between his teeth as he pulls away, and <em> ugh</em>, truly– <em> fuck </em> oxygen.</p><p>“<em>Wow</em>,” Sokka exhales, chuckling in disbelief.</p><p>“Yeah,” Zuko agrees, equally winded. They’ve stopped dancing, but are still very much tangled in each other. “So uh… are you still pretending to be my boyfriend?”</p><p>It’s cute how nervous Zuko is suddenly, as though he weren’t trying to swallow him whole a moment ago.</p><p>“Hmmmmm….” Sokka pretends to think. At Zuko’s frown, Sokka leans in to give him a quick peck on the lips. “Let’s call it an audition.”</p><p>Zuko smiles, and even horny-brain Sokka sobers at just how beautiful the sight is. “Okay,” he says. “Cast is set, then.”</p><p>“Nerd,” Sokka snorts. “Now, about those free drinks you promised…”</p><p>Zuko laughs, bringing Sokka close for a much softer kiss. It’s chaste, but still fully charged with passion by the time Zuko pulls away. “Well, I can’t call it <em> free </em> but…” Zuko trails off, and Sokka groans as Zuko’s thigh presses against him once more. “We’ve plenty to drink at our place.”</p><p>Sokka’s a <em> great </em> wingman. The best, really. Ten out of ten.  </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to my pal <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/finnamin">finnamin</a> for hyping me up.</p><p>Also, go check out this amazing <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30539706">PODFIC</a> that my friend made for this fic!! 10/10 🥺💕🥰</p><p>Kudos and comments appreciated 💕</p><p>Happy Zukka Week!!</p></blockquote><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30539706">[PODFIC] Lights, Camera, Friction</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/delicate_mageflower/pseuds/hawkevox">hawkevox (delicate_mageflower)</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div></div></div>
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